Putin Renames His Yacht ‘Killer Whale’, Walker Holds Onto Pro-Life Backers

Today we look at reaction to the latest news about Herschel Walker and consider the new name of Vladimir Putin’s superyacht.

Herschel Walker Hangs Onto Support From Pro-Life Group And Its PACs

An influential pro-life group is standing by its endorsement of Herschel Walker, the Republican running for Senate from Georgia, after a report that he paid a girlfriend to have an abortion in 2009.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America aims to “end abortion by electing national leaders and advocating for laws that save lives, with a special calling to promote pro-life women leaders.” In June, its PAC contributed $5,000 to Walker’s campaign, according to campaign-finance records. In the past month, the group’s affiliated super PAC, Women Speak Out, spent $25,000 canvassing and placing door hangers on Walker’s behalf.

According to the Daily Beast, Walker and his girlfriend conceived a child in 2009, before he urged her to get an abortion and reimbursed her for the procedure with a $700 check. Walker has denied the report and is threatening to sue the Daily Beast for defamation. The campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Herschel Walker has denied these allegations in the strongest possible terms, and we stand firmly alongside him,” said Mallory Carroll, a vice president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-life America and spokeswoman for Women Speak Out, the super PAC. “To date, our Georgia field team has visited more than 310,000 homes across the state in support of pro-life candidates like Herschel and against the extremism of Sen. Warnock and Stacey Abrams, and we will continue through Election Day.”

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America donated $5,000 to Herschel Walker’s campaign in June.

Federal Election Commission/Susan B. Anthony List Candidate Fund

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Vladimir Putin’s Superyacht Has A New Name: ‘Killer Whale’

“More than seven months after hastily departing Germany for the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, the Russian president’s $119 million, 267-foot Graceful was spotted off the coast of Estonia—with a new name,” reports Giacomo Tognini:

Photos seen by Forbes that were taken on September 25 by Carl Groll, a contributing photographer for TheYachtPhoto.com, reveal that Graceful has a new name: Kosatka, Russian for “killer whale.” Forbes, which was tipped off by TheYachtPhoto.com’s managing director and longtime yacht watcher Peter Seyfferth, compared photos of Graceful available on yacht industry websites with the photo of Kosatka that appear to confirm the match.

The yacht was traveling northbound in the Baltic Sea to the west of the Estonian island of Saaremaa; the pictures show it being escorted by an armed Russian Coast Guard vessel, possibly en route to St. Petersburg. It’s unclear when Graceful changed its name to Kosatka or when it departed Kaliningrad, a Russian territory sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland: the yacht’s transponder has been turned off since at least August 30, according to ship tracking service MarineTraffic, when it was still in Kaliningrad. A spokesperson for the Russian government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Vladimir Putin’s yacht Kosatka, formerly named Graceful, off the coast of Estonia on September 25.

Carl Groll/TheYachtPhoto.com

Continuing Irresolutions

Lev Parnas, a key figure in former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment, began serving a 20-month sentence for campaign-finance and wire fraud late this summer. The bureau of prisons recently updated his entry to include a release date of Jan. 18, 2024, about 16 months after Parnas reported for prison.

While a spokesperson for the bureau wouldn’t get into the specifics of Parnas’ sentence to explain the discrepancy, he did offer some possibilities. “We can share that an inmate’s time served includes the calculation of good conduct time earned by the inmate,” the spokesperson wrote in an email to Checks & Imbalances. “Additionally, inmates may also receive credit for time incarcerated prior to their date of sentencing.”

Parnas’ attorney did not immediately respond to an inquiry.

*****

The Consumer Technology Association’s PAC claims “an unknown individual” stole $37,000 from its bank account in August via fake checks and fraudulent ACH debits, Checks & Imbalances reported on Friday. After publication, a spokesperson replied to our inquiry: “With no indication of any CTA employee involvement, we have appropriately addressed this situation with our financial institution and have fully recovered the funds.”

Tracking Trump

Forbes continues to update “Tracking Trump: A Rundown Of All The Lawsuits And Investigations Involving The Former President.”

Forbes

“Former President Donald Trump sued CNN for defamation Monday, arguing the cable network has unfairly attacked him in recent years, marking the latest in a series of post-presidency lawsuits filed by Trump against his perceived enemies,” reports Joe Walsh.

*****

Rep. Maria Salazar (R-Fla.) and Florida State Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez (R) visited the former president’s Miami resort for the Latin Builders Association’s awards luncheon on Friday. Salazar does not appear to have received Trump’s endorsement.

Latin Builders Association

“‘A shame you are not in DC and could contribute to violation of the emoluments clause,’ Trump lawyer Bruce Marks wrote in the Dec. 30 email to attorney Kenneth Chesebro, a reference to allegations that Trump was improperly receiving foreign payments through his D.C.-based hotel.” (Politico)
“Trump startup investors: Give us a better deal or we’ll walk” (Politico)
Opinion | Rupert Murdoch and Donald Trump Are Ready for the Saudi Cash” (Politico Magazine)
“The MAGA Admin spinoff America First Policy Institute is launching an “America First Women’s Agenda” on Oct. 24 in Tampa.” (Twitter/David Armiak of The Center for Media and Democracy)

Editor’s Picks

“They Legitimized the Myth of a Stolen Election — and Reaped the Rewards” (The New York Times)
“Before Hurricane, Florida Republicans Helped Oil Donors Fight Climate Rules” (The Lever)
“Cha-ching! Biden embraces his election-year fundraising role” (Associated Press)
“The Koch Network’s Americans for Prosperity Action dropping $1 million on media buys in each of the #PASen, #WISen, #GASen, and #NCSen races, $40K in #IA03, and another $390,000 in canvassing expenditures across 22 House races and the 4 Senate races (plus #UTSen).” (Twitter/Rob Pyers of California Target Book)
“Warnock collects more than $26M in latest fundraising period” (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
“Dr. Oz loaned his campaign $7 million in Q3 and brought in $17.2 million total, including the loan.” (Twitter/Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times)
“Schiff’s House Dowry” (Puck)
“GOP megadonor Peter Thiel signals he is done helping Ohio Senate hopeful J.D. Vance, will fundraise for Arizona’s Blake Masters” (CNBC)
“Ted Deutch resigns from Congress to join the American Jewish Committee” (Florida Politics)
“Pelosi Statement Announcing Congresswoman Susan Wild as Chair of Ethics Committee” (Press release)
“2024 Watch: Youngkin ‘testing the waters’ at major donor retreat” (Fox News)
“Key GOP donor backs Dem after House Republican ousted over Trump impeachment” (Politico)
“Rick Caruso pledged $1 million to support abortion rights proposition but has yet to donate” (Los Angeles Times)
“Pro-DeSantis hybrid PAC to file lawsuit challenging unfavorable FEC ruling” (OpenSecrets)
“With new GOP infusion, ad spending in CD 27 nearly quadruple the next-costliest U.S. House race in South Florida” (Florida Politics)
“The Influential Group Helping Eric Adams Identify a Vision for New York” (The New York Times)
“Representatives’ personal offices pay out big to federal government, data shows” (LegiStorm)
“Forbes Tate Partners celebrated its 10th anniversary Thursday night at its office in Chinatown. SPOTTED: Reps. David Valadao (R-Calif.), Troy Balderson (R-Ohio), Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio), Jerry Carl (R-Ala.), Blake Moore (R-Utah), Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), Bryan Steil (R-Wis.), Jason Smith (R-Mo.), Scott Peters (D-Calif.) and Mike Turner (R-Ohio).” (Politico)
“A company is asking the FEC for permission to program your phone to listen for sounds embedded in political ads that are ‘imperceptible to humans,’ and when your phone hears the sound, it’ll prompt you to make a campaign donation.” (Twitter/Adav Noti of Campaign Legal)